# Another WWII Question **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 3, 2017, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-wwii-question/781344 "2017-03-03T23:04:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2017, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-wwii-question/781344/1 "2017-03-03T23:04:49Z")
During WWII, for any given battle did the winners confiscate the weapons of the fallen enemy soldiers and use those confiscated weapons in future engagements? ---
**Author:** ![Weisshund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba8739/32.png) [@Weisshund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weisshund)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2017, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-wwii-question/781344/2 "2017-03-03T23:12:22Z")
Well, you know the germans did. They got a lot of tanks that way, they also used captured planes etc. Pretty much everyone did if the captured weapon could serve a purpose Australians were not above repurposing captured Italian tanks German infantry made use of captured soviet machine guns etc. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2017, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-wwii-question/781344/3 "2017-03-03T23:19:34Z")
I’ve posted this a couple times on the SDMB, because it’s awesome. In one of his grumpy essays, Andy Rooney relates the following: > [@Andy Rooney and his eyebrows](#): > > Sounds are important in a war. In 1944 the 1st Infantry Division, the Big Red One, was our most warwise fighting force… At one point in the move across France, a green infantry division was moved in on the 1st Division’s flank. One company of that division ran across an arsenal of German weapons. When the 1st Division found German weapons, they destroyed them. These inexperienced soldiers were intrigued with the handy little German Schmeisser machine guns and, during a brief fire fight in the middle of the night, started using them against their former owners. Hearing that familiar sound on their flank and assuming the presence there of the enemy, a mortar unit from the 1st Division calmly turned its weapons in that direction and dropped shells until there was silence. Tragedy of war. I imagine weapons were confiscated and reused at least some times. But some discretion would be advised. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-wwii-question/781344/4 "2017-03-04T00:12:48Z")
The [Germans](http://i.imgur.com/ta6OZ.jpg) at [Stalingrad](http://i.imgur.com/24LIu.jpg) were quiet fond of the Soviet [PPSh](http://i.imgur.com/mw80T.jpg) submachine gun. Towards the end of the war I recall reading that they equipped whichever men they could scrounge up with whatever weapons they could scrounge up, including rifles taken from the Fall of France and Czechoslovakia. Wikipedia has a whole article on the [Soviet use of German materiel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captured_German_equipment_in_Soviet_use_on_the_Eastern_front), including tanks. I know of at least one instance of a [panther tank](http://i.imgur.com/eGl0UcS.jpg) being captured and used by the British, but they had to bin it due to mechanical problems. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-wwii-question/781344/5 "2017-03-04T02:35:17Z")
> [@Mr.Kobayashi](#): > > I know of at least one instance of a [panther tank](http://i.imgur.com/eGl0UcS.jpg) being captured and used by the British, but they had to bin it due to mechanical problems. Yeah, that’s the main issue. If everybody is using different guns, then you have to have different ammunition. If everybody is using different tire sizes, then you have to find different tires. If everybody’s nuts and bolts are a few millimeters off, then you have to find different nuts and bolts. Supplies are hard enough to keep flowing when it’s your own gear. Keeping other armies’ stuff ongoing is next to impossible. It can happen and obviously did. But it can’t be a large-scale or long-term solution for anything. If you’re down to scrounging the weapons of the dead, you’ve already lost. ---
**Author:** ![TSBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-wwii-question/781344/6 "2017-03-04T03:16:53Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > I’ve posted this a couple times on the SDMB, because it’s awesome. In one of his grumpy essays, Andy Rooney relates the following: > > I imagine weapons were confiscated and reused at least some times. But some discretion would be advised. Is there a source for that besides Andy Rooney? ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-wwii-question/781344/7 "2017-03-04T03:35:11Z")
> [@TSBG](#): > > Is there a source for that besides Andy Rooney? No idea. Rooney was a journalist during the war, so my presumption is that he had a source for it. Maybe he pulled it out of his ass. Dunno. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-wwii-question/781344/8 "2017-03-04T03:38:39Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Yeah, that’s the main issue. If everybody is using different guns, then you have to have different ammunition. If everybody is using different tire sizes, then you have to find different tires. If everybody’s nuts and bolts are a few millimeters off, then you have to find different nuts and bolts. Supplies are hard enough to keep flowing when it’s your own gear. Keeping other armies’ stuff ongoing is next to impossible. > > It can happen and obviously did. But it can’t be a large-scale or long-term solution for anything. If you’re down to scrounging the weapons of the dead, you’ve already lost. The Germans captured many, many Soviet 76mm Anti-tank guns. So they had them re-bored to accept German 75mm anti-tank ammo and put them to use. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-wwii-question/781344/9 "2017-03-04T03:44:36Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > The Germans captured many, many Soviet 76mm Anti-tank guns. So they had them re-bored to accept German 75mm anti-tank ammo and put them to use. I don’t mean this as snark, and I admit my ignorance of guns both large and small. But, how do you re-bore a gun to take smaller ammo? I can sorta envision reaming out a gun barrel so it can fire larger projectiles. But how do you do it the other way around? ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-wwii-question/781344/10 "2017-03-04T03:45:08Z")
Oh my, yes. Vehicles were captured and reused by the… well… everyone. The US 83rd Infantry Division used a bunch of captured German equipment, enough that it got the nickname “T[he Rag Tag Circus](http://imgur.com/a/DifH4).” IF you look about you can find pictures of ANZAC forces using captured Italian tanks, Soviets using captured German tanks, Germans using captured US and Soviet tanks, and on and on. [Matilda in use by the Afrika Korps](https://www.reddit.com/r/TankPorn/comments/5rmgey/matilda_captured_by_the_afrikakrops/) [Marder in use by the British](http://imgur.com/vAv2dwx) [Cromwell in Korea captured by the Chinese, given to the North Koreans, and captured by the South Koreans.](https://www.reddit.com/r/TankPorn/comments/5a0nz7/british_officers_examining_a_cromwell_tank_that/) [US troops with captured German halftracks](https://www.reddit.com/r/TankPorn/comments/5orpin/two_captured_german_halftracks_sdkfz_251_ausf_d/) [Captured Sherman taken out by a US tank destroyer](http://imgur.com/phLZTje) [Bunch of German tanks in Soviet service](http://imgur.com/gallery/hsyAe) [Ooh, the Aussies with captured Italian tanks. The kangaroos are recognition symbols.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Captured_Italian_tanks_005042.jpg) And the Israelis captured dozens of Soviet-made T54s, T-55s, and PT-76 tanks in the 6-Day War, and put them to active use, not getting rid of them until the 1980s. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-wwii-question/781344/11 "2017-03-04T03:48:20Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > I don’t mean this as snark, and I admit my ignorance of guns both large and small. But, how do you re-bore a gun to take smaller ammo? I can sorta envision reaming out a gun barrel so it can fire larger projectiles. But how do you do it the other way around? Well, I should have said “re-chambered.” The barrel was big enough for 75mm ammo to pass, although with a loss of power and accuracy due to a not very snug fit. According to wiki: “In 1941-42 the Wehrmacht captured hundreds of F-22s. Initially they were adopted as field guns, designated FK 296(r). In late 1941 it was decided to rebuild the gun as an anti-tank weapon, 7.62 cm PaK 36(r). The modifications included rechambering for a bigger cartridge, a modified recoil system, elevation controls that were moved to the left side of the barrel where the sights resided. Additionally the elevation was limited and most of the guns received a muzzle brake. New ammunition was produced for the gun. The PaK 36(r) reached the battlefield in the spring of 1942. 560 pieces were converted and some of them were used to arm Marder II and Marder III tank destroyers. Nine F-22s in the original configuration were mounted on SdKfz 6 halftrack tractors, resulting in the SdKfz 6 mit 7.62 cm FK 36(r).” ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-wwii-question/781344/12 "2017-03-04T04:31:53Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > Well, I should have said “re-chambered.” The barrel was big enough for 75mm ammo to pass, although with a loss of power and accuracy due to a not very snug fit. > > According to wiki: > > “In 1941-42 the Wehrmacht captured hundreds of F-22s. Initially they were adopted as field guns, designated FK 296(r). In late 1941 it was decided to rebuild the gun as an anti-tank weapon, 7.62 cm PaK 36(r). The modifications included rechambering for a bigger cartridge, a modified recoil system, elevation controls that were moved to the left side of the barrel where the sights resided. Additionally the elevation was limited and most of the guns received a muzzle brake. New ammunition was produced for the gun. The PaK 36(r) reached the battlefield in the spring of 1942. 560 pieces were converted and some of them were used to arm Marder II and Marder III tank destroyers. Nine F-22s in the original configuration were mounted on SdKfz 6 halftrack tractors, resulting in the SdKfz 6 mit 7.62 cm FK 36(r).” Interesting, thanks. I _think_ I understand that. A few too many acronyms, though. 🙂 (And that’s coming from an IT guy!) ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-wwii-question/781344/13 "2017-03-04T05:02:23Z")
During WWII, the United States Forces In the Philippines (USFIP) armed themselves with captured Japanese weapons. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-wwii-question/781344/14 "2017-03-04T06:23:42Z")
The British Sten SMG had the ability to accept German MP40 magazines, presumably so British troops could immediately use captured German magazines and ammo without having to give up their own SMG’s. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-wwii-question/781344/15 "2017-03-04T07:28:43Z")
The Germans had an official policy of using captured enemy weapons, giving such guns official designations - there are many, many photos of German soldiers using PPSh SMGs, SVT rifles, and pretty much anything else the Allies made which the Germans acquired in any sort of quantity. Interestingly, the only small arm officially made and used by both sides simultaneously during WWII was the Browning Hi-Power handgun. The factory was in Belgium and captured by the Germans in 1940, but the key designers and engineers escaped to the UK and then onto Canada where they put the gun back into production for the Allies. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-wwii-question/781344/16 "2017-03-04T10:29:48Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > I’ve posted this a couple times on the SDMB, because it’s awesome. In one of his grumpy essays, Andy Rooney relates the following: > > I imagine weapons were confiscated and reused at least some times. But some discretion would be advised. Great story. Moral: never use captured weapons untl you’ve told your own side that you’re about to use captured weapons! ---
**Author:** ![Malden\_Capell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malden_capell/32/5274_2.png) [@Malden\_Capell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malden_Capell)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-wwii-question/781344/17 "2017-03-04T10:46:12Z")
French Char B1s saw German service during the war. _After_ WW2, German Panthers were drafted into the French Army. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-wwii-question/781344/18 "2017-03-04T13:00:18Z")
Captured Panzerfausts were much prized. The Soviets used them a lot in urban warfare, e.g., the [Battle in Berlin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_in_Berlin#Tactics_and_terrain). Really great at working your way up a street via the interiors of apartment buildings. US forces also used [them](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panzerfaust#Other_countries). ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2017, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-wwii-question/781344/19 "2017-03-08T18:01:36Z")
If we look at definitions of battle that include larger actions like the entire campaign to conquer Czechoslovakia… The Czech built LT vz. 35 and 38 light tanks. In German usage (and production) they were type classified as the[Panzer 35(t)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panzer_35(t)) and [Pz. 38(t)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panzer_38(t)). Germany even continued production of the 38(t)s. They were used for the conquest of Poland and formed a good chunk of the panzer force used to conquer France. Both soldiered on into Russia where Barbarossa exposed the issues of continuing to use interwar light tank designs against newer and heavier tanks. The Panzer 35(t) got retired first most being incapable of dealing with more modern armor and not being seen as reliable in the Russian cold. The 38s continued service in other roles. Many were converted to Marder III tank destroyers using their hulls but with the turret removed. The hull design, modified, formed the basis for the construction of the of the Panzerjager 38(t), AKA the Hetzer. It helps when you capture not just the weapons but also the factories and workers that make them, their parts, and their ammo. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Corry\_El](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecae2f/32.png) [@Corry\_El](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corry_El)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2017, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-wwii-question/781344/20 "2017-03-08T18:15:40Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > During WWII, the United States Forces In the Philippines (USFIP) armed themselves with captured Japanese weapons. And vice versa. Perhaps the most effective captured weapon ever used against US forces was the M3 Light Tank the Japanese landed in the invasion of Corregidor in May 1942 along with two of their own (Type 97 Mediums). The American tank was more mobile in the sand and was able to tow the Japanese ones out when they bogged down. Then the appearance of the three of them near Malinta Tunnel was was what triggered Wainwright’s decision to surrender, to a far smaller Japanese force on the island than the defenders, and in a precarious supply state because so many of their boats had been destroyed. Ex-US weapons like M3 Light Tanks and 155mm GPF guns were also encountered in the 1945 campaign on Luzon. The Japanese attempt to copy the M1 rifle was based on captures in the first PI campaign. Also Japanese development of a lead computing gunsight was based on those on the top turrets of B-17E’s captured in the Dutch East Indies (though the B-17C/D wrecks in the PI didn’t have them). The Andy Rooney story is echoed in others about how the sound of German automatic weapons, MG42’s machine guns also, made them dangerous to use in terms of friendly fire accidents. Overall the Germans were surely the kings of captured weapons in WWII. The ‘Atlantic Wall’ defenses from France to Norway had a large % of captured artillery pieces though some German. Their occupation divisions and the weapons of non-infantry were heavily equipped with captured weapons etc. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-wwii-question/781344.md?page=2)